Wild Horses
by Cheap Trixie
Summary: A side fic to Coming Undone, which you should read before this. A series of drabbles, all featuring Daryl and Skyla, from the time they became friends up till her death, including the infamous prom date! Kinda Daryl/OC, but more friendship than anything.
1. October 1985

**Authors Note's: All right, to fully understand this story, you need to read my other TWD fic, Coming Undone, as this is a side fic to that. Otherwise, this will make little to no sense.**

**Disclaimer: I own Skyla, who is probably the best OC I've ever created. I'm quite proud of her actually and I hated to kill her off. Anyway, I don't own any characters that you recognize. I WISH I owned Daryl Dixon...sigh...**

* * *

_I watched you suffer a dull aching pain  
Now you decided to show me the same  
No sweeping exits or off stage lines  
Could make me feel bitter or treat you unkind  
Wild horses couldn't drag me away_

_Wild, wild horses couldn't drag me away_

_I know I've dreamed you a sin and a lie_  
_I have my freedom but I don't have much time_  
_Faith has been broken, tears must be cried_  
_Let's do some living after we die_  
_Cause wild horses couldn't drag me away_  
_Wild, wild horses we'll ride them someday_  
_Wild horses couldn't drag me away_  
_Wild, wild horses we'll ride them someday_  
_-The Rolling Stones_

* * *

**October 1985-**

"DARYL!"

Daryl Dixon, six-years-old, heard his father's shout from halfway down the block. He didn't know what he'd done this time. Left his Matchbox cars out? Didn't put a dirty plate in the sink? Of course, it could've been something Merle had done and blamed on him. Merle was eleven and got in trouble for all kinds of stuff, but he tried to blame most of it on Daryl.

"Where you at, boy?"

Daryl wasn't sure where to go. He knew he needed to hide, unless he wanted his ass beat. If he could just find a place to hide until his Daddy passed out again…

"Daryl…hey." Skyla, the girl from next door, who he avoided unless forced to play with her, was whispering to him. She was sitting in the dirt beside the back of her trailer, playing with army men. "In here."

She held open a flap of her trailers underpinning. "Hurry up, stupid." She said. "Get in 'fore he finds you."

Daryl dropped to his knees and crawled under the trailer and Skyla put the underpinning back in place. Daryl held his breath; he could hear his father's footsteps coming around the side of the trailer.

"You there, girl!" He said. "You seen my boy, Daryl?"

"Oh, no sir." Skyla said in a sunny voice, lying smooth as butter. "I surely ain't, but if I do, I'll tell him you're lookin' for him, okay, Mr. Dixon?"

His father muttered something unintelligible and walked off. Skyla waited a few minutes to make sure he was gone before crawling under the trailer with Daryl.

"He's gone." She said. "What'd you do anyway, kid?"

He didn't like her calling him kid, just because she was two months older. "Dunno. Nothing probably. Merle probably did something and blamed it on me."

"Sounds about right." Skyla nodded. "You better lay low here for awhile anyway, though. You wanna play?" She held out a toy to him and he realized she was offering one of her army men.

"All right." He said and took some.

They spent the afternoon playing quietly under her trailer, waiting for him to be able to go home.


	2. April 1987

**April 1987-**

"Look! Fire trucks!" Skyla pointed and Daryl turned to watch as two of the red engines screamed past them.

"Let's follow them!" Billy Dean, the unofficial leader of their group picked up his bike and hopped on it.

Daryl hated being the only one of his friends who didn't have a bike. Even Skyla had one, but she wouldn't ride it. She said it was because it was pink, but Daryl knew it was because she didn't want him to feel left out.

They were the last ones to round the corner. Daryl felt weird, everyone was looking at him. What was going on?

"Oh my God." Skyla said as they pushed to the front of the crowd. "Oh, Dar…"

It was then Daryl saw that it was _his_ trailer on fire. He surged forward, trying to run towards it. He could hear Skyla calling out for him, but it was just background noise to the rushing in his ears.

"Whoa, fella!" A fireman caught him. "Where do you think you're going?"

"That's my house!" Daryl told him. "My Mama is in there!"

"Are you Daryl?" The man asked and he nodded. "You need to come with me, son."

The man led him over to a police cruiser. "Am I under arrest?" He asked fearfully.

"No, of course not." The man said. "I just need you to sit here and answer some questions for me. Do you know where your Daddy is?"

Daryl shook his head. "No, sir." He said. "He's been gone for a few days. He does that sometimes."

The man sighed. "Daryl, I don't know how to tell you this, but the cause of the fire was from a lit cigarette. It seems like your Mama fell asleep with it in her hand."

"Where is she?" Daryl looked around for his mother. "Is she all right?"

"Son, she didn't make." The fireman told him. "I'm sorry."

"What?" Daryl started to shake his head. "No…that's not true. You're lying!"

"I wish I were." The man said simply and Daryl turned to run away, but the man reached out to grab him. "I can't let you go anywhere. Since we can't find out where your Daddy is and your brother is in the boys home, we're gonna have to put you in the system, at least until your Dad shows up again."

"Put me in the system?" Daryl asked. "You mean, like a foster home?"

"Yeah." The man sighed. "I'm sorry, but the law says-."

"Aaron Dixon's always taking off." Daryl looked up to see Skyla's Mee-Maw standing beside him. "He'll be back in a few days."

The fireman looked at her too, this elderly woman with a spine of steel. "I'm sorry, but who are you?"

"Gaylene Adler. I live next door." She reached out and touched Daryl's head. "The boy can stay with us till his Daddy gets back from runtin' around."

The fireman wanted to argue and even brought one of the police officers in on it, but in the end Mee-Maw won out. Daryl was to stay with the Adler's until his father came home.

He and Skyla went into what was left of his home to see if they could find anything. It wasn't too bad, really, he thought. The only really burned part was his parent's old bedroom. He pushed that thought from his mind. His room and the rest of the house were pretty much saved.

Skyla helped him pack up his meager belongings. He was going to be staying in the Adler's guest bedroom.

"Now, you know that this room doubles as my sewing room, so be careful of this stuff." Mee-Maw told him as she brought him in.

Half the room was nicely made up with a bed, a dresser, and a small night stand. The other half held an old table with a sewing machine on it and shelves and shelves of craft supplies.

"Oh, I won't touch anything, Mee-Maw." He told her and she smiled at him.

"You're a good boy." She said. "Go on and get settled in. We'll call you when its time to sup."

"You want me to stay?" Skyla asked and he nodded.

She sat down on the bed and watched as he put his clothes in to the chest of drawers.

"Daryl, I'm real sorry about your Mama." She said and he nodded, but didn't look at her. "But I'm glad you're here."

Daryl felt the tears begin to well up in his eyes. He still didn't turn around; he didn't want Skyla to see him cry. It didn't seem to matter though; it was like she sensed it. She slid down into the floor beside and wrapped her skinny arms around his neck. At first he tried to push her away, but she wasn't letting him go. Finally he gave in and let her hold him. She pulled him up and led him to the bed. They lay down together, his face buried in her neck. And that's when he really started to cry.

"_Shh, shh_." Skyla comforted. "Let it all out."

And when he had cried it out, Skyla put her fingers under his chin and raised his face to hers. She leaned forward and brushed their lips together.

"You're my best friend." She whispered.

Daryl was eight years old when he lost his mother, and on the same day, he began to fall in love with the little girl next door.


	3. January 1989

**January 1989-**

Daryl and Skyla, now both nine-years-old, hunkered down in the old school bus seat together, a small bag of BBQ chips, from Skyla's lunch, propped open between them. It was snowing outside and school had ended early that day because of it.

Skyla was looking through a copy of Tiger Beat magazine and sighing over the pictures of the teen idols in there. Daryl was reading a Chronicles of Narnia novel, which were his most favorite books. He and Skyla would often go in the woods surrounding the trailer court and play like they were in Narnia. That's what he had been doing that day last summer when he had gotten lost. Merle was still in the boy's home and his Daddy was off with some woman. Skyla and Mee-Maw were spending two weeks in Macon with some family they had there. No one had known he was even gone, but he'd toughed it out and made it home again. He never told anyone about it, not even Skyla.

"You think I'd be pretty if I wore my hair like this?" She was showing him a picture of Madonna, her hair cut super short like a boys. Daryl shook his head.

"Girls are supposed to have long hair." He said. He wrapped a strand of hers, that shiny wheat blonde he saw in his sleep, around his finger. "I like your hair the way it is."

"Well, well, well," A booming voice made them both jump. "What have we here? Darylena and his little girlfriend."

Daryl raised his head a fraction of an inch, slipping his novel into his backpack before his brother saw it. "Shut up, Merle."

Merle, already tall and muscular, slid into the seat in front of them. He flicked Daryl on the head. "Don't tell me to shut up, little brother." He said. "Tryin' to show off for your _girlfriend_?"

"She's not my girlfriend." Daryl insisted. It was an old fight.

"Why not?" Merle asked. "She's a pretty little thing. Honey, you wanna be my girlfriend?"

"Pass." Skyla said without even looking up from her magazine. It was one the things that Daryl loved about her. She treated Merle like he wasn't even there, and that drove Merle nuts. She held out the bag of chips to him. "Here, take these and be gone, before someone drops a house on you too."

"What? What house?" Merle's face was screwed up in confusion. Daryl, who had gotten the reference, dropped his head to hide his smile.

At the entrance to the trailer court, over half the bus emptied. Daryl pulled his sockcap low over his head, and pulled his coat tighter around him.

"Fuck its cold!" Merle caught up with them, his breath coming out in white puffs as he spoke.

"Y'all come on over to my house." Skyla said. "Mee-maw will make us some hot chocolate."

Daryl nodded. Mee-Maw made her hot cocoa homemade, none of the Swiss Miss package shit. It was always delicious.

"Well, I'm supposed to meet up with Andrew and Mikey…" Merle started and Skyla swatted him on the arm, the only person who he would let get away with such things.

"Oh, them damn rednecks can wait a bit, can't they?" She asked. Even at nine-years-old, she was lovely and Daryl didn't like the way he saw Merle's friends, even Merle himself, looking at her sometimes.

"Oh, I guess they can." Merle draped a heavy arm across Skyla's shoulders and she laughed. Daryl felt his stomach swoop.

"You children get in here!" Mee-maw was calling from the front door and the three of them rushed through the quickly falling snow into the warmth of the trailer. "Shoes off, don't be trackin' up the carpet! That goes for you too, Merle Dixon!"

"Yes, Ma'am." Even Merle, who had little respect for anyone, listened up when Mee-Maw spoke. He slipped his heavy boots off and let them by the front door with the others.

"Now, I got some hot chocolate already heating up for you." She said. She was a tiny woman, barely five feet, with short curls that she kept colored her natural brown and eyes the same gray as Skyla's.

Daryl knew that he'd spend the rest of the day and probably the night here, but he didn't know what Merle was going to get up to. He hoped his brother would stay out of trouble, but if he was running with Andrew and Mikey, he doubted it.

And, true to his word, Merle drank one cup of chocolate, ate three sugar cookies and was gone. Daryl breathed a sigh of relief. His brother had been all right, even nice, that day, but most days he did everything in his power to make Daryl miserable.

"Wanna play Mario?" Skyla asked after they had eaten. She'd gotten the Nintendo for Christmas, the only thing she'd asked for, and Daryl was extremely jealous, but glad he at least got to play with hers.

"Yeah!"

"One hour, you two!" Mee-Maw said. "Then its time for my stories to come on."

"_Fine_." Skyla sighed.

They played for exactly an hour, and then Mee-Maw shooed them outside into the freezing wonderland that was their trailer park. Daryl hurried into his own trailer to slip his coveralls on.

"Who's that?" He father called out and Daryl held his breath.

"Just me, Daddy." He said. "I came in to put my coveralls on. It's snowin' out."

"Why…why ain't you in school?" Aaron Dixon asked, narrowing his eyes at his youngest son.

_Why ain't you at work_? Were the words he wanted so badly to fling back in the old man's face, but he didn't. "They let us out early 'cause of the snow." He said instead. "And they cancelled school for tomorrow too."

"I don't believe you." Aaron came towards him again and Daryl braced himself for the beating he knew was coming. "If they cancelled school, where's Merle?"

"He's already run off with his buddies." Daryl bit back a cry as his dad grabbed his upper arm.

"I'm sick of you lyin' to me, boy!"

"Hey, Daryl, ready to go?" Skyla bounced through the front door like nothing was wrong. Dressed in her hot pink snowsuit, purple coat, and her sockcap with the kitty cat face on it, she looked completely out of place in the dingy mobile home. "Oh hey, Mr. Dixon." She said. "Pretty cool about the snow day, huh?"

She looked up at the old man with wide gray eyes and he nodded his head and let go of Daryl, who scampered off down the hallway to his room to get his coveralls on.

He could hear Skyla in the living room, blathering on to his dad about something. He didn't know how she did it. She could just stand there and _talk_ to the old man like it was the most natural thing in the world. And he'd talk back to her, that was the real kicker! She could stand there all day, asking him the simplest questions and he'd answer them. Daryl didn't understand it. He barely spoke two words to him or Merle, unless it was to yell at them. Maybe it was because Skyla was a girl? He didn't know.

When he came back down the hall, he was surprised to see his Daddy reach out and touch Skyla's hair. "You look like your Mama." He told her. She nodded, clearly shocked, but trying not to show it.

"That's what they tell me." She said.

"I knew your Mama, from years back." He said. "Went to school with her, but I was a lot a grades ahead of her. She was pretty girl. You're a pretty girl."

"Thank you." Skyla dropped her eyes.

"Ready, Sky?" Daryl asked loudly.

"Oh, yes." She said, her face brightening when she saw him. "I'll see you around, Mr. Dixon." She said. She slipped her gloved hand into Daryl's and they walked out into the snow together.

"Be careful!" Aaron said behind them and when Daryl turned around he saw that his Daddy was not looking at him, but at Skyla.

"What was that?" He asked. "All that talk about your Mom?"

Skyla shrugged as they struggled through the snow together. "I dunno." She said. "But it was kinda creepy, wasn't it?"

Daryl nodded but didn't say anything.

"I mean, I knew that he knew her, but to bring her up out of the blue…weird." Skyla shook her head. "And he touched my hair. I don't think he's ever touched me before."

"Yeah, weird." Daryl decided he didn't like the look on his Daddy's face when he looked at Skyla. He didn't like it one bit.


	4. May 1991

**May 1991-**

It was Spring, Daryl's favorite season. He loved it when the leaves came back and everything just…sprang to life. It would grow warm outside, the days would grow longer, and school would end for the summer.

That's what he loved the most, no school. He and Skyla would spend their days together, usually in the woods. It used to be that they'd spend all summer playing some elaborate fantasy game they had invented. Now that they were older, he was nearly twelve and Skyla already was, they spent less time playing and more time talking. Just like this Saturday afternoon; the two of them lay in a clearing in the forest, far away from the trailer court, on an old, ratty blanket Skyla had brought, eating grapes.

"Open your mouth; let's see if you can catch one." Skyla told him. He sat up and opened his mouth wide. Skyla lobed the grape and it flew past Daryl's face and landed about three feet behind him.

"You have shitty aim, Sky." He told her, flopping back down and then wincing. He'd gotten into it with Merle the night before and his back was pretty beaten up.

Skyla pretended not to notice, because Daryl hated it when she made a big deal out of those things. She just lay down on her back beside him and together they stared up at the blue sky.

"You ever think about leaving?" Daryl asked her.

"Leaving what?"

"Deerwood." He answered. She shrugged.

"Sometimes, I guess. Do you?"

"All the time." He said. "As soon as I'm old enough, I'm blowin' this popsicle stand."

She giggled. 'Yeah? Where you gonna go?"

He shrugged. "First, I'm going to see the ocean. I wanna stand with my feet in the water and watch the tides change. And from there, I don't know. Maybe New Orleans…or Los Angeles…or New York City."

Skyla rolled over on her belly and faced him. "Sounds like fun. Can I come with you?"

He nodded, a mental picture forming in his mind. He was picturing him and Skyla as adults, flying along an ocean side highway on a motorcycle. She'd wrap her arms around his waist and bury her face against his neck. Thinking of this gave Daryl that odd tingle that he was beginning to get whenever he thought of Skyla late at night, lying in his bed.

"We'll travel the country on a motorcycle." He told her. "Just me and you."

She smiled and he felt the tingle again. "Like gypsies." She cocked her head to the side. "Can we go to Salem?"

"Salem Massachusetts?" He asked and she nodded.

"Yeah, I'd like to see where they witch trials were held." She replied. They'd learned about them in school back around Halloween and Skyla had been fascinated ever since.

"Okay," He said. "Yeah, we can do that."

"Maybe we could drive out to the Cape, too." She said. "And see the ocean there. If it's warm, we can sleep on the beach."

"I've read that the air gets cold at night, coming off the water." He told her and she shrugged again.

"We can keep each other warm." She said. There was that damn tingle again. "Ohh, you know where else I'd like to go? To Fall River and see the Lizzie Borden house."

He grinned. "You are _way_ too into the occult."

She smiled back. "What? It's cool! And besides, its not like I want to be a _witch_ or anything, I just think it's interesting. Anyway, it's nice to know there are other religions out there aside from Deerwood Southern Baptist."

"Yeah, no shit." He said. He turned over on his stomach too.

The little transistor radio he had brought along was playing Lady, by the band Styx and he turned it up. Skyla smiled because it was her favorite song. Out here in the middle of the woods, all they could get was the classic rock station and since Skyla claimed she always need music, it was what they had taken to listening to, just one more thing for other kids to tease them about. Skyla grinned at him and started to sing along with the sing

"_Lady, when you're with me I'm smiling_

_Give me all your love_

_Your hands build me up when I'm sinking_

_Touch me and my troubles abade."_

Skyla rolled over beside him and begin to poke and tickle his sides. "I know you know the words, Daryl Dixon! Sing it with me, or I'll tickle you to death!"

Just to get her to stop, he joined in on the chorus and the two of them were practically screaming the lyrics out.

"_'Cause you're my lady of the morning  
Love shines in your eyes  
Sparkling, clear, and lovely  
You're my lady"_

By the time the bridge came, they were both laughing so hard at each others horrible singing, they couldn't catch their breath. They were just rolling around, laughing together. And somehow…somehow, Daryl was on his back and Skyla was leaning over him. She was looking in his eyes and there was still laughter on her face and without even thinking, he raised his head and kissed her. Really kissed her, and when their tongues touched ever so slightly, he felt a sizzle of electricity flow through his body. He pressed his lips harder to hers and she didn't seem to mind at all.

After a few seconds they pulled apart.

"Daryl?" Skyla asked, her voice breathless and shaky.

"Yeah?"

"If you tell anyone we kissed, especially Merle, I'll beat the living shit out of you." She grinned and pressed her lips to his again quickly. "But you taste good."


	5. September 1992

**September 1992-**

The first time Daryl ever saw Baby Reid, he was thirteen-years-old. School had just started back and he and Skyla were in the Eighth grade. Merle, who was eighteen and had long since dropped out, was working at the Philips 66 gas station and garage. The school was only two blocks away and sometimes Merle would give them a ride home.

On this day, when they went in, there were two girls, obviously high school girls, talking to Merle. The shorter of the two was leaning _waaay _over the counter, giving Merle a nice view down her low cut top at her well matured breasts. Merle, being Merle, wasn't hiding the fact that he was looking, either. For once, Daryl couldn't blame him. She was a very pretty girl.

Her hair was long and blonde. Not the wheat color of Skyla's, but a much lighter shade and she had these large cow eyes that were such a velvety brown that Daryl wanted to fall into them. Her lips were very full, almost round like a baby's.

Daryl stopped when he saw the two girls, the taller one with the dark hair was really pretty too; and it was obvious that these were _town_ girls. They didn't live in the trailer park, that's for damn sure. He suddenly felt very awkward in his ripped jeans and ancient Guns and Roses t-shirt.

Skyla, however, knew nothing of the feeling of awkwardness and she had sauntered right up to the counter and hopped up onto it, dropping her backpack on the floor.

"We need a ride." She said to Merle.

Merle could barely tear his eyes away from Blondie's cleavage. "I'm busy Skyla. Why the fuck didn't you two assclowns take the bus?"

"Because _you're_ the assclown who told us you'd give us a ride." She shot back. "God!"

"That was then, this is now." He said, still not taking his eyes of the girl.

Skyla sighed in that oh-so-dramatic way that thirteen-year-old girls have. "Fine. Guess we're walking, Dar." She started to get down but the blonde stopped her.

"Oh, Merle, is this your little sister?" She asked.

Skyla snorted. "Fuck no, I ain't his sister! What are you, high?"

Merle slapped her on the back of the head. "You might as well be my sister, much as you hang around." He said. He turned back to the blonde. "No, but that's my kid brother."

She turned and her eyes went to Daryl. Even though he was only three years younger than him, she acted like he was a toddler. "Oh, aren't you _cute_?" She asked, pinching his cheek. Daryl felt his face turning red under his freckles and Skyla was rolling her eyes.

"Hey, now." Merle stood up straight. "How come you'll tell him he's cute, but not me?"

"Oh, you're cute, too." Blondie said over her shoulder. She ran her hand down Daryl's hair. "What's your name, honey?"

"Daryl." He stuttered out.

"Well, Daryl, if you and your girlfriend need a ride, me and Nikki would be glad to give you one." Blondie said.

"No thanks." Skyla said loudly. "We'll walk. And I'm _not_ his girlfriend."

"All the way out to the trailer court?" Blondie asked. "Come on; just let us give you a ride."

"Hey, Baby, you comin' back?" Merle asked and she nodded.

"You gonna take me out after you get off work?" She asked and he grinned.

"Sure enough." He said.

And somehow, Daryl still wasn't quite sure how, he and Skyla were riding in the back of Nikki's convertible. The day was still warm and she had the top down.

"Um," he leaned forward, trying to work up the courage. "What's your name?" He asked the blonde.

She laughed. "I guess I didn't say, did I?" She flipped her hair over her shoulder. "My name's Baby Reid."

"_Baby_?" Skyla asked incredulously. "Your name is actually _Baby_?!"

Daryl stomped on Skyla's foot, trying to shut her up, but it didn't seem to matter, Baby was laughing. "Yep, that's my real name. It's on my birth certificate, even: Baby Lynette Reid. My Mama's parents are real old South; she named me that just to get under their skin."

"Oh, I love this song!" Nikki reached over and turned the radio up. It was some bouncy pop song that both girls knew all the words to.

Skyla sat back in her seat. She was not having a good time, and she hated these fake nice girls. Especially Baby. And what kind of stupid name was that, anyway? _Baby_. And look at the way that Daryl was drooling all over her, just like Merle. God.

The girls dropped them off at the entrance to the trailer court and Skyla began to walk away while Daryl was still stuttering out a thank you.

"Skyla, wait up!" He ran to catch up to her, expecting her to slow. "Hey!" He looked at her face, set in an angry line. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing."

"Nuh-uh, you're mad." He said. "I can tell; you got that pissy look on your face."

"Do not." She said. He grabbed her arm.

"Skyla, what's wrong?"

"Surprised you even remember my name." She said. "Why don't you go back and drool over your new friends some more?"

This gave Daryl a pause. Is that what this about? "Are you…jealous?" He asked.

"No!" She shot him a deadly look. "It's just…those girls are so fake and you're practically dry humping their legs."

His face flamed. "I was not! I was just being nice!"

She nodded sarcastically. "Oh, yeah. I saw how nice you were being."

"Sky!" He grabbed her arm again. "_You're_ my best friend. You know that, right?"

Skyla looked into his blue eyes and felt her heart soften. She slung her arm around him and he knew all was forgiven. Truth was, she _was_ jealous. And she didn't know why. There was one thing she did know for sure, though. She did not like Baby Reid and the less she hung around the better, in Skyla's opinion.


	6. March 1994

**March 1994- **

Skyla had a boyfriend and Daryl was jealous.

His name was Brian Allen and he was a senior. This was a big deal to Skyla, seeing as she and Daryl were only freshmen. He played baseball and was going to be graduating at the end of the year. He drove a blue Chevy and he picked Skyla up for school in it every morning. Most days Daryl rode the bus, but some days he rode with Skyla and Brian.

Daryl hated Brian. He hated the cocky, possessive way he treated Skyla, like she was his property just because she was his girlfriend. He could never love her like Daryl did.

They were riding the bus home from school together. Brian had baseball practice and wasn't able to give Skyla a ride.

"You wanna come over for awhile?" Daryl asked her. She nodded.

"Sure, but only if you'll help me with my history homework."

Daryl was good in history and science. He enjoyed those classes, even though he'd never admit to anyone but Skyla.

"Yeah, I'll help you." He said as the bus stopped in front of the trailer park.

They climbed off together and started walking down the pavement. It was that time of year when its freezing cold in the mornings, but by the time school lets out, it's nice and warm. Both of them had their jackets tied in knots around their waists. Daryl felt a wave of relief wash over him to see his daddy's truck was gone. At least he didn't have to deal with that. Merle's bike was sitting in the driveway, along with Baby's little red sports car.

Baby practically lived with them, but her daddy, who lived in Savannah and felt guilty about leaving her, showered her with expensive gifts, the car being one of them. It looked weird to see the shiny, red thing sitting amongst the neighbor's beaters, but after awhile people got used to it.

Daryl and Skyla set up shop at the kitchen table, both of them pulling out papers from their backpacks. They'd only been at it a few minutes when Merle came out of his room. He wasn't wearing anything but a pair of worn boxers and the sight of his bare, muscular chest made Skyla blush and looked down.

He grabbed a can of beer out of the fridge. "What's goin' on, nerds?" He asked.

"History homework." Skyla sighed. "I don't know why they make us learn this shit. God, it's already happened and you can't live in the past."

Merle laughed. He didn't drink his beer so much as he poured it down his throat. "You're a funny kid, Sky."

She shrugged. "I try."

"Merle?" Baby was standing in the hallway. She was wearing a pair of flimsy panties and one of Merle's overlarge t-shirts and that was it. "You coming back to bed?"

"Yeah, baby." He told her. "Be there in a minute."

He grinned at his little brother. Daryl felt his own face growing hot. He knew what Baby and Merle were doing in there and he couldn't help but be curious about it. He glanced at Skyla as Merle left the room, wondering what it would be like to touch her in that way. She was so pretty, so soft, and Daryl felt himself grow hard in his jeans just thinking about it. He closed his eyes for a minute, trying to think of something else…anything else.

"Hey," Skyla was looking at him. "You okay?"

"What? Oh yeah, I'm fine." Daryl nodded. "Peachy fuckin' keen."

"Makes you uncomfortable, doesn't it?" She asked. "Knowing what they're doing in the other room."

Daryl shrugged. "Kinda, I guess. I mean, he's my brother, so it's weird."

"At least they're quiet about it." Skyla said, just as Merle's headboard began to bang rhythmically against the wall.

Daryl and Skyla looked at one another and started to laugh.

* * *

After they'd sobered up, Skyla looked up from her homework.

"Brian wants me to do it with him." She said.

"Do what?" Daryl asked.

Skyla rolled her eyes. "You know…_it_."

"Oh." He felt as though there were a hard knot in his stomach. "Are you going to?"

She shrugged. "I don't know…I don't think I'm ready yet."

"Did you tell him that?" Daryl asked. Again she shrugged.

"He said that if I really loved him, I'd let him go all the way."

This time it was Daryl who was rolling his eyes. "Don't fall for that line of shit." He said. "You tell him, if he really loved_ you_, he'd wait."

Skyla cocked her head to the side. "If you were my boyfriend, would you wait till I was ready?" She asked.

"I'd…I'd wait forever for you." He said. She smiled.

"Really?"

"Of course."

Skyla reached out and touched his face. "You're a real sweetie, you know that?"

It was only a few days later that Skyla and Brian broke up. He told everyone that he had dumped her, but Daryl knew the truth. He was there when it went down; Skyla had dumped him.

It was a cool Saturday night, just before 10:00. Baby had gone down to Savannah to visit with her Daddy, and Merle and Daryl were sitting on the front porch. Merle was drinking a beer and Daryl had a can of Coke. He was reading a book about Native American legends, and if he came across a really neat one, he'd read it out loud to Merle.

He was in the middle of a particularly scary one when Brian's pickup rumbled past. Merle whistled.

"That's a nice lookin' truck." He said. Daryl scowled.

"That's Skyla's boyfriend." He said. "Dickhead."

Merle chuckled. "Why don't you just ask her out, Little Bro?"

Daryl glared at him. "Things ain't like that between me and Sky and you know it."

"You want 'em to be though, don't you?" Merle winked at him. "Come on, Daryl, I ain't stupid. I got eyes."

Daryl opened his mouth to reply, but before he could, he heard a muffled shriek. It came from the cab of Brian's truck. He and Merle looked at each other and Daryl knew they were thinking the same thing. They both stepped down off the porch.

"I said, get the fuck off me!"

It was definitely Skyla's voice. Without even stopping to think, Daryl dropped his book and ran to the truck, Merle on his heels. He wrenched the drives side door open just as Brian slapped Skyla hard across the face.

"Don't you touch her, you son of a bitch!" Daryl practically leapt at Brian, who'd had no idea he was even back there.

"What the-?"

Daryl managed to get a few good shots in before Brian got his footing.

Merle helped Skyla from the truck. She was crying and there was a red mark on her cheek. They watched together as the two boys tussled on the ground.

"Help him!" Skyla demanded of Merle, who shook his head.

"Nah, he's holdin his own pretty good." Merle told her. "If he starts to get in over his head, I'll jump in, but I don't think I'll have to."

He didn't. Daryl was small, but he was fast and strong and the years of dealing with his big brother had taught him how to fight. Both boys had bloody noses and Brian had what looked the beginnings of a black eye when they were done.

Skyla rushed to Daryl, ignoring Brian all together. "Are you all right?" He asked him. He wiped his nose with his shirt sleeve.

"I'm fine."

"So that's how the wind blows, huh?" Brian said loudly. "Should've known that's why you wouldn't give me any. You been fuckin' that little bastard all along, haven't you? Haven't you, you bitch?"

This time it was Merle who stepped up. Instinctively Brian stepped back.

"You wanna be real, real careful what you say, you little fucking piss ant." Merle told him, getting inches from his face. "'Cause that beatin' my kid brother just gave you ain't nothin' compared to what I'll deliver if I see you around that girl again."

Brian left real quick after that and Merle went back to his beer. Daryl took Skyla inside so he could clean up.

Skyla was crying. Daryl reached up and wiped the tears off her face. "Forget him." He told her. "He's a prick."

She wrapped her arms around him. "You're my hero." She whispered in his ear. "Like, my knight in shining amour or something."

She kissed his cheek and clung to him. He held her in his arms, already becoming sinewy with muscle, and closed his eyes. Maybe he should take Merle's advice and just tell her how he felt. Maybe….

"You're my best friend." She said into his chest and he even though he smiled down at her, he knew that that's all he'd ever be. Her friend.


End file.
